"Empire State of Mind" is a single by American hip hop rapper Jay-Z, released as the third single from his studio album The Blueprint 3 (2009) on his Roc Nation label. It features guest vocals from R&B and soul singer-songwriter Alicia Keys. The song is an anthemic ode to Jay-Z's and Keys's native New York City, featuring sampling of "Love on a Two-Way Street" by The Moments. It also contains elements of electropop and orchestra pop. Jay-Z and Keys performed the song at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards. It is also the plate music for New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter. After the song was released, it debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 50, with more than 40,000 downloads. Leaping from 23 to 1 on the Hot Digital Songs the following week, it rocketed to number 5 on the Hot 100 in its second week on the chart. With that big jump, the song became Jay Z's sixteenth top 10 hit and Keys' ninth top 10 hit. "Empire State of Mind" reached number 2 on the UK Singles Chart on October 4, 2009. The song also reached number 2 in the Irish Singles Chart on September 25, 2009 with no official release. In the UK, it received rotation on BBC Radio 1 and The Hit Music Network Playlists. On November 18, 2009, it was announced that the song had hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Jay-Z's first #1 on that chart as a lead artist.

Front Line Assembly's second album (the second of three released in three months in late '87 and early '88) shows the prolific Vancouver-based duo at the peak of their early style, which is basically that of a Canadian Cabaret Voltaire. Less aggressive and sample-based than their compatriots Skinny Puppy (which songwriter Bill Leeb used to be a member of; the Pup's Dave Ogilvie co-produced State of Mind), Front Line Assembly married doomy electronic keyboards and percussion to a live-sounding bass and drum whomp, creating a more purely dance-oriented sound.

State of Mind is an eye-opener: In documenting the daily grind of 13-year-old Pak Hyon Sun and 11-year-old Kim Song Yun as they prepare for the yearly Games, Gordon reveals what it’s like to live in North Korea today.

The Diary of Alicia Keys is the second studio album by American recording artist Alicia Keys. It was released in the United States on December 2, 2003 by J Records. Recording sessions for the album took place during 2002 to 2003 at various recording studios, and production was handled primarily by Keys with contributions from Kerry Brothers, Jr., Timbaland, Dwayne Wiggins, Dre & Vidal, Easy Mo Bee and Kanye West.